


Happy Birthday Ashton!

by p_dottie



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, birthday fic, kurokoccheerio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:23:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/p_dottie/pseuds/p_dottie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this birthday fic for kurokoccheerio on tumblr. It goes by his Jaspidot au. Go check it out, he's awesome!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Birthday Ashton!

Gems didn’t need sleep, even if it was a nice pastime, so every night after the sun went down Jasper found herself very alone, in a very quiet, very dark room. Everything was so still, the air calm after Peridot had gone to bed.

The silence was enough to drive just about anybody mad. Peridot had offered to leave the television on when she went to bed, but after watching the box all day long Jasper fond it couldn’t keep her attention very well.

So she fidgeted, paced the house from room to room like a caged animal, awaiting that blissful moment when orange light creeped in from the windows and dusted the room in a pale glow, signaling that it was soon to be time for Peridot to wake up.

Right on cue, just a few hours after the sun had returned, so did Peridot. She emerged from her room fully dressed and wide awake, ready to begin her day’s work with enthusiasm.

It was a pattern Jasper was all too familiar with, one she had grown accustomed to. Any deference from that pattern threw her off, such as an unexpected guest (of which there were very few) - or a phone call in the early morning jerking her out of her thoughts.

“Hello? Oh, thank you! You know I had almost forgotten myself, I’ve been so busy. Yes well, you do know how I am…Oh no that won’t be necessary, I have a birthday every year there is no reason to celebrate….No it’s quite alright, thank you for the call! Have a nice day.”

Jasper listened in to her call, wondering who she was talking to, what they were saying…and what was a birthday?

After she hung up the phone, Peridot retreated into her study room for what would likely be half the day. Jasper sidled up to the desktop computer in the living room and began to do one of her least favorite things: Research.

Humans were odd creatures, with many strange rituals that puzzled Jasper to no end, but this one just might be the oddest yet. A yearly celebration of, what, life? After reading a few articles on the internet, she determined that this must be some sort of rite for…maybe luck? That you won’t die in the coming year? That had to be it.

Peridot had said on the phone that there was no reason to celebrate. Did that mean…that she was to die in the coming year?

Jasper began to panic. Why wouldn’t she tell her if she knew when she was going to die? Why was this kept from her? She had to think of a way to fix this, and fast.

If the celebration of living into another year was what kept humans alive into the next, then a celebration was exactly what Jasper would do! But, she was reminded as she paced the house once again, she had no idea what kind of celebration was called for.

The internet, ever the helpful tool and an infinite pool of knowledge, mentioned funny hats and games and sweet pastries and….breathing on fire? Inside the pastry? Jasper had no idea how that one worked, but the games and hats she figured she could do.

She got to work immediately, gathering together paper and some colored pencils she found in Peridot’s room (she wouldn’t mind the intrusion once she found out Jasper was saving her life) and got to work making the head ornaments. Peridot already had a head covering…but maybe the hat goes over it? Jasper scribbled streaks of every color on a few sheets of paper and followed an online guide on how to fold them into something resembling a boat.

Jasper didn’t know what games were played during these rites, but she did know what games were, and that was a start. She dug through Peridot’s room again and found a box that she knew held a game; they had played it together once before. Jasper was very bad at it.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, Jasper had the game board set out and about twenty party hats colored and folded. She sat in the middle of the living room, bright green and orange paper hat stuck in her hair, waiting for Peridot to come out of her study.

An hour past noon Peridot made an appearance, coming out to look for food in the kitchen. When she walked into the living room, she nearly spilled her glass of water at the sight of Jasper, a giant alien woman, sitting on the floor with monopoly and horribly colored paper boats all over the floor. It looked like a gaggle of five year olds had wrecked her living room.

“Jasper! What is the meaning of this?” She sat her glass down and headed into the living room.

“Your birthday!” Jasper stood, paper flying everywhere, and cleared her throat. “This is the part where I sing, right? I want to do this right, so the ritual can be complete.”

“Ritual? What are you talking about?” Peridot began gathering up paper hats and scraps where Jasper had clearly had trouble making a few.

“The birthday celebration…so you live another year? Why didn’t you tell me humans die if they don’t celebrate each year of life!” Jasper sounded irritated, and would have looked the part if not for the paper lost in her mane.

Peridot gave her a blank stare for a moment before busting out laughing, tears coming to her eyes. “Jasper…I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, but…Birthday parties are just for fun!”

Jasper stepped forward and placed a party hat on Peridot’s head. “You can lie to me all you want, but I’m not letting you die. Now tell me how to make a cake with fire on sticks, if you don’t breathe on it before sundown this will have all been a waste of time.”

“It’s…oh gosh Jasper listen to me!” Peridot had to take a minute to breathe, she could feel her insides cramping from laughing so hard. “A birthday is just. The anniversary of the day you were born. Some people have parties every year to celebrate and get gifts, it is not a matter of life and death.”

At the mention of gifts, Jasper’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, I forgot about the gift! I don’t really know what to give you…” She trailed off, looking around the room. With no real possessions of her own, there wasn’t much to pick from when it came to gifts. What did humans consider to be a proper gift anyway? Surely it wasn’t all that different from gems.

“You didn’t have to get me anything. This…while very silly and entirely mislead, was a very sweet gesture. Thank you Jasper, I really appreciate it.” Peridot smiled up at her and gave her a pat on the cheek.

Jasper cleared her throat. “So…you really aren’t going to die this year?”

“Not if I can keep from it!” She winked, going back to picking up shredded paper.

“Then…I’ll make sure of it. You have my protection. That’s a good gift, isn’t it?” Jasper shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes piercing through Peridot’s head.

She stood, turning to face Jasper and dropping her paper when she saw the look in her eyes.

“Oh, um…Of course it is! Thank you.” Peridot found it difficult to look away from Jasper’s gaze; she looked so intense, staring holes into Peridot’s face. She could feel her face heat up, not used to being under such scrutiny. When she finally did look away, Jasper took hold of her chin, turning her to face her again with a shockingly gentle touch.

Jasper continued to stare her down, and it was beginning to be slightly uncomfortable on Peridot’s end, but she wasn’t sure if she should move. With the collar no longer around Jasper’s neck, she had no idea of knowing just how safe she was, other than her trust in the gem. She closed her eyes, waiting for Jasper to get her fill of staring.

She kept her eyes closed as she felt the air stir, Jasper taking a small step closer to her. Peridot couldn’t tell if the warmth she felt on her face was due to Jasper’s hand or her own embarrassment, but she could tell when she felt warmer that the heat was definitely coming from Jasper, who had leaned ever closer.

“Jasper…what are you doing?” Peridot kept her eyes closed, and spoke barely above a whisper. She drew her hands up and placed them on Jasper’s chest with the intent to push her away, but hesitated when she felt the sharp prod of a gem on her nose. A sharp intake of breath, the feeling of something akin to a purr resonating through her hands, and the soft press of lips on hers held her stock still.

After what could have been no longer than three seconds, Jasper pulled away and Peridot opened her eyes, looking up with slight confusion.

Jasper smiled at her, patting her cheek in a similar way that she had done to Jasper earlier.

“Happy birthday Peridot.”


End file.
